High motor. Coachable. Explosive athlete who spends more time on the sideline because of nagging injuries than he does in the defensive-line rotation.

No one was more frustrated with that description than Dippel, a redshirt junior defensive end from Hartford High School.

"Finally I'm feeling really, really good," Dippel said recently.

The pain in his right foot, caused by an injury to the plantar fascia he suffered last spring, is gone.

His right ankle, sprained in camp, is sound.

The acromioclavicular (AC) joint in his left shoulder - which he injured Oct. 6 against Illinois, left him home for the Purdue game the next week and proved troublesome for most of the season - is pain-free.

The result: Dippel enjoyed his best game at UW in the Big Ten title game with two sacks and is eager to return to the field when the Badgers face No. 8 Stanford on Tuesday in the Rose Bowl.

"Obviously no one is 100% at this point," he said. "But as far as the things that were nagging me, we really focused on them and put a plan together to limit me on a few things at practice and it really helped."

In order to keep Dippel available and sharp for games this season, he sometimes was limited in practice. As the season progressed and his health improved, Dippel practiced more consistently but was held out of certain drills that would put strain on his shoulders.

"During the season it was things like not hitting the sled," Dippel said, "just stuff to take off a little wear and tear.

"I'm going to do enough striking in team drills and working against the scouts.

"It wasn't like I was limited too much. It was just that I was held out of drills. . . .

"I have a whole bunch of stuff wrong with my shoulders. I've always been dealing with it."

Extra work in the weight room designed to strengthen Dippel's shoulders appears to have worked.

On both of Dippel's sacks in the 70-31 victory over Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, the 6-foot-4, 262-pounder exploded into a blocker, threw him aside and got to quarterback Taylor Martinez with ease.

Dippel's first sack came in the second quarter with UW holding a 28-10 lead and the Cornhuskers facing third and 10 from their 25.

UW used its "Indy" package, which features four defensive ends, two linebackers and five defensive backs.

Dippel, lined up at right tackle, attacked left guard Seung Hoon Choi head-on. Dippel knocked the 6-2, 295-pound senior off his feet and dropped Martinez for a 2-yard loss.

His second sack came from a four-man rush on Nebraska's first play of the fourth quarter.

This time Dippel rushed against junior left tackle Jeremiah Sirles. Dippel used an inside move to toss the 6-6, 310-pound Sirles out of the way and drilled Martinez for an 11-yard loss on first and 10 from the UW 34.

"It was his most complete performance," defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said. "It was the type of game he really could show his ability. We never had any doubt about Tyler's ability.

"It's about consistently being able to be in the lineup. It is fun to see him have a night like that."

Dippel has missed one game this season and was limited in several others. However, he is tied for the team lead in sacks (five). He had a combined two sacks in his first two seasons (25 games).

"My shoulders are feeling good and my foot is feeling good," he said. "Now that I'm feeling good I don't want to be limited in practice."

UW sacked Martinez six times in the Big Ten title game and will need to generate similar pressure against Stanford's Kevin Hogan.

Hogan, a 6-4, 224-pound redshirt freshman, has started Stanford's last four games. In those games, he has completed 78 of 109 attempts (72%) for 780 yards, with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

He has also rushed 34 times for 145 yards (4.3-yard average) and two touchdowns.

Stanford's coaches don't call a high number of quarterback runs and Hogan doesn't look first to run when he gets outside the pocket.

However, he is adept at extending plays and putting stress on defensive backs by making them cover for longer periods of time.

"Whenever you have a quarterback who is athletic you always have to be aware of him getting out of the pocket," Dippel said. "We don't want him outside the pocket. We want to keep him hemmed in.

"A lot of times when they get out of the pocket they can extend plays and make big plays happen. That is what we're trying to eliminate."

Now that Dippel is healthy, he will be a key member of the unit asked to eliminate that part of Hogan's game.